So-Called Dollar - 1909 WA SC$1 HK-360, ALASKA-YUKON-PACIFIC NGC MS65 Hart's

Here’s a quite interesting piece to add to your collection from the Alaska Yukon Pacific Exposition (AYPE) of 1909. The obverse depicts a miner with hand on his hip and a pick over his shoulder. Above him is ALASKA GOLD. On the ground behind him is a shovel. To his left is ‘19’ and to his right is ‘09.’ A.Y.P.E. is below. Six stars are found on the obverse, three each on the left and right. The reverse has a wreath with berries, within which are (from top to bottom) 1, a shield, and ‘DWT.’ NGC has graded 26 as MS63 with 7 finer.

The Alaska Yukon Pacific Exposition of 1909 in Seattle, Washington, with a dramatic view of Mount Rainier. Photo: Wikimedia Commons.

It was in 1909 that the Alaska-Yukon-Pacific Exposition (AYPE) took place in Seattle, Washington, from June 1 to October 16. Essentially, it followed-up the 1905 Lewis and Clark Exposition in Portland, Oregon. The drive for this Expo came from a group of Alaskan gold rush pioneers in 1905. Seattle businessmen planned this event to take place in 1909, so it would not conflict with the Jamestown tricentennial celebration of 1907. The AYPE followed the American tradition established in 1876 when Philadelphia held its Centennial Expo to celebrate 100 years of American independence.